As the stone door creaked open, a fierce and brutal aura surged forth, chilling everyone to the bone as if they had encountered a primeval beast.
However, having all consumed the elixirs, their spirits remained unaffected. They only sensed a place of great ill omen, feeling uneasy.
Yet, within a meter radius of Li Chungang, this dark energy dared not approach, or rather, could not, being repelled by an invisible force.
"Could that ferocious beast have discovered us already?"
Ning Shuixing felt a shiver run down her spine. Though this place was built by her ancestors, who knew the true state of that beast?
She moved closer to Li Chungang, and only by being near him did the young girl feel a sense of relief, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her heart.
These energies also failed to affect Zhou Yan. His body, infused with the power of Yin-Yang Hunyuan, was extraordinary. The energies seemed to fear his aura and actively avoided him.
"You don't know at all what kind of fierce beast that is?" Xiao Zhao asked, quite curious.
"Even my parents never knew what kind of beast it was, so how would I? Even this place was told to me in haste. If I hadn't truly arrived here, I wouldn't have believed my ancestors could have produced such a formidable figure."
Ning Shuixing voiced her thoughts. She hadn't been sure of this place's existence before.
"Are there any more traps inside?" Zhao Min inquired.
"That, I truly don't know. All I know is the path leading up to opening the stone door. As for information within, there is none."
Ning Shuixing shook her head, indicating her ignorance. Everything would depend on their own exploration.
Zhou Yan unleashed his powerful mental energy, as did Cai Yan and Chang'e. Their mental prowess was immense, and they continuously probed the area ahead.
Inside was a vast, dark, and cavernous passage, so somber and cold it felt like a gateway to hell.
"The light from our lamps can only illuminate this far. It's as if the light is being consumed and swallowed."
They produced their lighting tools, but the place was peculiar; they couldn't see very far.
"Whoosh!"
Liuli conjured a jade-green flame, illuminating the path ahead. Liuli had controlled the temperature of this flame so they couldn't feel its intense heat.
"Liuli's flame is so beautiful, like jade. It's truly peculiar," Wei Zifu exclaimed, watching the light with great admiration.
"This is no ordinary flame. Even this dark energy fears it and avoids it," Zhao Min observed, noticing its peculiar nature.
"It looks like there are torch holders on the wall. Should we light them?" Dian Wei asked.
"Light them and see," Zhou Yan commanded.
As a flame ignited one of them, the entire passage was filled with light.
Furthermore, the surrounding dark energy began to dissipate slowly once the torchlight appeared.
"This isn't ordinary torchlight," Diao Chan noted, but she couldn't identify the oil, only that it possessed a power to expel evil.
"Let's continue forward. I can sense that aura is still ahead," Zhou Yan said.
"More accurately, it should be underground," Li Chungang added.
"It seems there's a passage leading underground. We just don't know if there are traps ahead."
As if to confirm Zhou Yan's words, he soon sensed something unusual ahead, causing everyone to halt.
"Little girl, your ancestors were quite cautious, weren't they?" Zhou Yan observed closely. The path ahead could not be stepped on carelessly, nor could they fly over it.
For invisible threads, like fine silk, crisscrossed the air. If one rushed through, their entire body would be sliced into pieces.
As for the path underfoot, a wrong step would lead to a trap.
"Huh, this pattern... I seem to remember it. My parents taught me something like this when I was little. I thought it was just a game back then." Ning Shuixing looked at the patterns on the ground and seemed to recall something.
"Why don't you go first?" Xiao Zhao suggested.
"This... I'm not confident," Ning Shuixing immediately became fearful. If it wasn't the correct path, she would surely die. She didn't want to die.
"My Lord, let me test it," Dian Wei stepped forward.
"Alright," Zhou Yan agreed. Even if an accident occurred, Dian Wei could be resurrected.
Ning Shuixing instructed, "The third stone slab from the left."
Dian Wei did not move.
Everyone was puzzled, wondering why Dian Wei hadn't moved.
"Uh, where is left?" Dian Wei turned his head and asked, scratching his forehead.
The crowd was speechless. He couldn't even distinguish left from right.
"I'll do it," Zhang Xiu stepped forward and placed his foot there, discovering there was no issue.
Dian Wei, seeing this, immediately understood and said, "So that's left."
"You simpleton, aren't you embarrassed?" Yang Zaixing immediately laughed.
"The stone slab on the right with the flower..." Ning Shuixing began to guide them.
A few minutes later, Zhang Xiu successfully crossed, relieving everyone.
"Don't step on the wrong one. I'll sprinkle some powder on the ground." To accommodate the few simpletons, Zhou Yan specifically sprinkled powder on the correct path.
One by one, they safely crossed without incident.
Continuing forward, Zhou Yan said, "There's a mechanism ahead. Don't step on that particular stone slab."
Zhou Yan stepped forward, marked the slab, and then instructed everyone to avoid it.
The interior was riddled with traps and formations, making the journey quite arduous.
However, in many places, Ning Shuixing felt that it related to the games she played as a child. In fact, it was true, which saved them a lot of time.
Finally, they reached the end, a grand stone hall.
On a wall, there was a stone tablet inscribed with: "Ning Ming erected this stele..."
The general meaning was that Ning Shuixing's ancestor, named Ning Ming, encountered a beast that brought devastation to the land in his later years, known as Zhu Yan. Ning Ming then led a group of powerful individuals to try and kill it.
But unfortunately, the group of experts only managed to wound it severely. Even Ning Ming himself sustained injuries. He then used all his strength to seal it, built this palace, hoping his descendants would slay it when they became powerful enough.
"Zhu Yan. I never thought it would be this kind of fierce beast. Legend has it that when this beast appears, great wars break out across the land. I wonder if it's true," Diao Chan remarked.
"I'm very confused. Why didn't your ancestor hand them over to the experts of the Xuán Fēng Dynasty to handle? They had to seal it," Zhou Yan found this highly perplexing.
"Why don't you go dig up my ancestral grave and ask them yourself?" Ning Shuixing suggested.
Everyone was stunned by this remark.
Truly a filial daughter!
"Let's look for the mechanism. It's just a sealed fierce beast; its strength shouldn't be too great," Zhou Yan said.